Before My Time-Food Rules of WW I

Before My Time
by Patrick Finnegan copyright 2010
Food Rules of WWI
By Patrick Finnegan
Perhaps some of the more seasoned readers of this column
recall the rationing that occurred during World War II. World
War I had its own bit of rationing too. The “Official Food
Rules” of 1917, regularly published in the Three Forks Herald,
were as follows;
Here are some of the recipes as printed in the NEWS. If
someone is willing to make them, I’m willing to sample. Note:
In the following recipes, 1-3 cups is not 1 to 3 cups but 1/3 cup.
Conventions have changed!
Recipes by Three Forks Ladies
The News will, in the future publish a number of recipes each
week by Three Forks ladies. These have all been submitted to
the Woman’s Council of this city, and have been on display at
the Three Forks Drug company.
Cut them out and save them. You will find them very
convenient and useful. Following are the recipes:
Patriotic Fig Pudding
(Mrs. Shadduck)
2 cups chopped suet, 2 cups chopped figs, 1 cup molasses, 1
cup syrup, 4 cups bread crumbs, (I used war bread made with
corn flour) 3 eggs, 3 teaspoons baking powder; wet with milk to
the consistency of fruit cake, take about 1-3 cups; steam 3 1-2
hours.
Rye and Cornmeal Cookies
(Mrs. Althouse)
2-3 cups shortening, 1 large cup corn syrup, 2-3 cup sour milk,
1 teaspoon soda, 1 cup currants, 2 cups rye flour, 1 cup
cornmeal, 1-2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon allspice [no cooking
instructions included]
Barley Spice Cake
(Mrs. L. R. Henslee)
1-3 cup shortening, 1 1-2 cup barley flour, 1 cup brown sugare,
1-2 cup molasses, 1-2 cup strong coffee, 2 eggs, 1 cup raisins
and currants mixed, 1 level teaspoon soda, 1 level teaspoon
cinnamon, pinch of salt, cloves. Sift flour, soda and spices
together; cream brown sugar and shortening; add the well
beaten egg and molasses, then the fruit dredged in part of the
flour; then the coffee alternately with balance of flour. Bake in
well greased pan in moderate oven about one hour.
Feed Flour Bread
(Mrs. C. M. Sterling)
Set sponge, 1 tea cup of white flour, boil four potatoes and pour
the hot water over flour, mash the potatoes and put in with one
yeast cake and let raise until morning. In the morning put a
spoon full of sugar and a spoonful of shortening and salt; add
water to make the quantity of bread desired; mix thicker than
for white bread. [no baking instructions included]
At the height of the rationing effort, The Three Forks
NEWS printed a series of recipes submitted to the local
Women’s Patriotic Council and posted at the Three Forks
Drug Store. Since wheat flour was rationed, substitutes of
cornmeal, rye flour and barley flour were used and sometimes
potatoes were mixed with wheat flour to help it go farther.
Orange Rye Drop Cookies
(Mrs. F. Echard)
6 tablespoons vegetable fat, 1-3 teaspoons ginger, 1-2 cup
orange juice, 1-2 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 eggs, 1-2 cup raisins, 1
cup honey, 2-3 teaspoons soda, 2 1-2 cups rye flour. Cream fat,
add honey, eggs well beaten; mix and sift together the dry
ingredients and add alternately with orange juice. Drop in oiled
sheet and bake in moderate oven.
According to one source, in 1915 the average
consumption of sugar was 15-20 pounds per year. Today, it is
estimated that every man, woman and child in the U.S.
consumes over 100 pounds of sugar per year, more than two
pounds a week.
Page 1
Before My Time
by Patrick Finnegan copyright 2010
Buckwheat Cookies
(Mrs. N. M. Kvalnes)
3-4 cup shortening, 2 1-2 cup Karo, 1-2 cup molasses, 3-4 cup
sour milk, teaspoon soda dissolved in milk, 1-2 teaspoon salt, 1
teaspoon cinnamon, 1-2 teaspoon cloves, 1-2 teaspoon nutmeg,
2 cups buckwheat flour, 1 3-4 cups rolled oats. This amount
makes about 30. [no baking instructions included]
Bran Cornmeal Bread
Scald 2 cups cornmeal and 3 cups bran, add 2 teaspoons lard,
cover and let stand 1 hour, add 2-3 cup black molasses and five
cups sponge, add salt, use enough white flour to mix stiff, let
rise until twice its size; work down, let rise again and make into
loaves; let rise until twice their size and bake.
Spice Cake
Two-thirds cup molasses, fill the cup with sugar; 4 heaping
teaspoons shortening, one cup strong coffee, 2 1-4 cups white
flour, one cup chopped raisins, one teaspoon soda dissolved in
the coffee, one teaspoon cinnamon, 1-2 teaspoon allspice, 1-4
teaspoon each of cloves, lemon and vanilla flavoring
Corn Meal Pie Crust
1 cup white flour, 1-3 cup corn meal, 1-2 cup shortening, 1-4
teaspoon salt. Mix with milk; makes one pie.
Rolled Oats Bread
Measure 4 cups rolled oats and put through food grinder. Beat
one egg, add 2 tablespoons honey or corn syrup and 2
tablespoons molasses, 2 cups sour milk. Sift 2 cups barley flour
with 1 teaspoon soda, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon
salt, beat all well together and bake about 1 hour in slow oven.
Steamed Brown Bread
1 cup sour milk, 3 tablespoons molasses, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon
soda, 2 tablespoons shortening, 1-4 teaspoon salt. Corn meal
and rye meal to make a batter the will run from the spoon.
Steam 2 hours.
Steamed Brown Bread
(Mrs. Lieb)
Two cups rye flour, two cups cornmeal, 3 cups sour milk, one
cup raisins, one teaspoon soda dissolved in hot water, three
tablespoons of molasses. Steam three hours then put in oven to
brown.
Angel Cake
Whites 6 eggs beaten very stiff with pinch of salt, 1-2 cup sugar,
1-2 cup corn starch, 1 level teaspoon baking powder. Sift
together 3 times and fold in egg whites. Bake as any angel cake.
Pop-Overs
2 eggs, 1-2 cups wheat flour, 1-2 cup bran flour, 1 cup milk,
beat 3 minutes. Bake in moderate oven; have muffin tins
greased and hot before putting in the mixture. This makes 12.
Cottage Cheese Sausage
1 cup cottage cheese, 1 cup dry bread crumbs, or 1-2 cup cold
cooked rice and 1-2 cup bread crumbs, 1-4 cup peanut butter,
or 2 tablespoons savory fat, 1-4 cup coarsely chopped peanut
meats, 1-2 teaspoons powdered sage, 1-2 teaspoons thyme, 1
tablespoon milk, 1 teaspoon salt, 1-4 teaspoon pepper, 1-3
teaspoon soda, 1 tablespoon finely chopped onions. The bread
crumbs may be made from left over corn, barley or other quick
breads.
Cook the onion in the fat until tender but not brown. Dissolve
the soda in the milk and work into the cheese. Mix all other
dry ingredients thoroughly with the bread crumbs. Blend
peanut butter and onion with cheese, and mix them with bread
crumbs. Form into flat cakes, dust with bread crumbs or
cornmeal, and fry a delicate brown in a little fat in a hot frying
pan.
Brown Bread
1-2 cup molasses, 2 cups sour milk, 2 teaspoons soda, 1 egg, 1-4
cup honey, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon fat, 2 1-2 cups oat
flour, 1 1-2 cups barley flour.
Mix well and bake in slow oven about 1 hour. If 3-4 cup honey
is used instead of molasses and 1 cup nuts added, a good nut
loaf is made.
Page 2
Molasses Cookies
(Mrs. R. C. Daniels)
Two eggs, one cup molasses, one cup brown sugar, one cup
lard, two teaspoons soda in a little hot water, one teaspoon
baking powder, one half teaspoon each ginger, cloves,
cinnamon, two cups white flour, two cups corn flour. Mix soft.
These never fail.
War Time Meat Loaf
(Mrs. W. McKenna)
Two lbs or four cups chopped meat, two cups mashed potatoes
or bread crumbs, one cup corn meal, two or three eggs, salt,
pepper, sage, onion, or both. Scald the corn meal in boiling
water, mix all ingredients together; bake in slow oven until done.
Serve with tomato sauce, or let cool and slice and fry in hot fat.
Oat Meal Cookies
(Mrs. Gordon)
One cup sugar, one heaping tablespoon butter, one teaspoon
cinnamon, one teaspoon nutmeg, one cup sour milk, one
teaspoon soda, three cups oatmeal, three cups of oat flour, onehalf cups of white flour, one generous cup of raisins and nuts.